Mexico and the war on drugs: Problems and solutions

The recent detention of Mario Ramirez Treviño ― head of the Cártel del
Golfo (Gulf Cartel) and better known as X-20 ― in Mexico brought renewed
attention to the war on drugs. However, in a critical paper published by the Council
on Hemispheric Affairs, Pamela F. Izaguirre called Ramirez Treviño's arrest as “nothing
more than superficial achievements for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s
eight-month-old administration.” After providing some much needed background
to the current crisis in Mexico, Izaguirre wrote:

The central issue, however, appears to be that past presidents have
failed to hit at the heart of the drug trafficking organizations. According to
Edgardo Buscaglia, Special Advisor to the United Nations in organized crime, by
not attacking the nature of their patrimony, the most fundamental solution is
not implemented, allowing these organizations to continue to thrive. In other
words, DTO’s [drug traffic organizations] are determined to expand their patrimony, which is undoubtably
derived from illegal activities. Their biggest achievement is to hide
themselves in the legal economy through the formalization of the resources they
obtain from committing crimes. Sending the military and the police force to
take back the streets is only going to work if at the same time the government
dismantles the patrimony of millions, and often billions, of dollars into
the hands of Mexican criminal groups. When the DTO’s start to worry that their
funds and businesses might be sought after by government authorities, they
will no longer be able to finance more corruption and violence.

Furthermore, Buscaglia asserts that in order for DTO’s to stay in
business, they need to be protected by a three-pillar formula consisting of
powerful businesses, tainted politicians, and public officials. Together, these
three act as a shield of steel that keeps them untouchable and enables them to
continuously grow. In her book Los Señores del Narco (The Narco
Lords), brilliant Mexican reporter Anabel Hernández identifies not the
kingpins, but Mexico’s powerful businessman and politicians as being the
original masters of the narco-business, who through their networks have
developed thriving enterprises with absolute impunity. The problem is not that
Mexico does not possess the intelligence or institutional means to stop
organized crime from growing; it is that these elite groups have managed to
block them.